I have slowly put together a small pottery studio over a couple years. Half of the basement provides me with enough room for a throwing area, glazing table, sink, and shelves. The garage holds a well-vented electric kiln. I also have a portable photo booth to photograph my finished work.
Clay Table
To set up the kiln in the garage, I had to cut off one end of the giant workbench so it would fit. I hauled this end of the workbench (about 4 feet long and 2 feet wide) down to the basement. I attached sheets of masonite to the top for a smooth finish and then wrapped it in canvas so the clay doesn’t stick to it. This gives me enough room to prepare clay, hand build, roll slabs and add textures. It is very sturdy and has a shelf underneath to store boxes of clay.
Throwing Area
pottery wheel and throwing area
My wheel is set up in one corner next to the clay table. I added a column of shelves against the wall which holds finished work, a Giffin Grip, a trimming chuck, rags and other items. I built an L-shaped table to go around my wheel and hold all my throwing tools. I’ve also started collecting old clay boxes and turning them into another table in the corner.
Glazing Table
In the corner opposite the wheel is where I’ve set up an area to glaze pots. I added an old dining room table and built a number of shelves to hold glazes, raw materials, brushes, a scale and other glaze-related items. I store 5 gallon buckets under the table and shelves.
Sink and Shelves
glaze area, shelves, sink
The basement came with a sink located right next to the sump pump and seemed to be used mostly as a place for the washing machine to empty into. It still serves this purpose but now it also gives me a good spot to wash my hands and tools or fill up a water bucket.
I added a metal shelf to hold buckets and miscellaneous items and then a plastic shelf for setting things to dry after washing. I took one of the giant shelves that came with the basement and took up too much room and turned it into a long table/shelf. I use it to hold work in progress or estimate how many pieces I can fit in the kiln. I added a half shelf at the bottom for storage and recently added a smaller shelf in the middle which holds bowls and mugs quite nicely.
Electric Kiln
When we moved in the garage already had a 240v outlet with a 50 amp fuse and breaker box installed. I didn’t want to do any re-wiring if possible so I purchased an Olympic Freedom 2323He Kiln. It came with a vent which I ran through the ceiling and out through the back of the garage. I used the wood from the pallet that the kiln was shipped on to build myself a kiln cart. It holds all the posts, shelves and replacement parts. The kiln came with an electronic controller which makes the kiln easy to fire.